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Guo ST, He SJ, Zhang H, Bai RF, Zhang SM, Hou R, Grueter CC, Chapman CA, Dunn DW, Li BG. Male social rank and food competition in a primate multi-level society. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 173:630-642. [PMID: 32918292 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2019] [Revised: 08/06/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Social animals often have dominance hierarchies, with high rank conferring preferential access to resources. In primates, competition among males is often assumed to occur predominantly over reproductive opportunities. However, competition for food may occur during food shortages, such as in temperate species during winter. Higher-ranked males may thus gain preferential access to high-profitability food, which would enable them to spend longer engaged in activities other than feeding. MATERIALS AND METHODS We performed a field experiment with a breeding band of golden snub-nosed monkeys, a species that lives in a multi-level society in high-altitude forests in central China. We provisioned monkey's high-profitability food during winter when natural foods are limited, and then recorded the times individual adult males spent engaged in different behaviors. RESULTS Higher-ranking males spent less time feeding overall and fed on provisioned foods at a higher rate than lower-ranking males. Higher-ranking males therefore had more time to spend on alternative behaviors. We found no significant difference according to rank in times spent moving or resting. However, high-ranking males spend significantly longer on affiliative behaviors with other members of their social sub-units, especially grooming and being groomed, behaviors known to promote social cohesion in primates. DISCUSSION We show that preferential access to high-profitability foods likely relaxes time-budget constraints to higher-ranking males. High-ranking males thus spend more time on non-feeding activities, especially grooming, which may enhance social cohesion within their social sub-unit. We discuss the potential direct and indirect benefits to high-ranking males associated with preferential access to high-value food during winter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Song-Tao Guo
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Shu-Jun He
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - He Zhang
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Rui-Feng Bai
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Si-Meng Zhang
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Rong Hou
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Cyril C Grueter
- School of Human Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.,Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.,International Centre of Biodiversity and Primate Conservation, Dali University, Dali, China
| | - Colin A Chapman
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Northwest University, Xi'an, China.,International Centre of Biodiversity and Primate Conservation, Dali University, Dali, China.,Department of Anthropology, Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.,School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
| | - Derek W Dunn
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Bao-Guo Li
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Northwest University, Xi'an, China.,Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
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Mirville MO, Ridley AR, Samedi JPM, Vecellio V, Ndagijimana F, Stoinski TS, Grueter CC. Low familiarity and similar ‘group strength’ between opponents increase the intensity of intergroup interactions in mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2592-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
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Mirville MO, Ridley AR, Samedi J, Vecellio V, Ndagijimana F, Stoinski TS, Grueter CC. Factors influencing individual participation during intergroup interactions in mountain gorillas. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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